This invention generally relates to telephony systems. More specifically, it is a method and apparatus for simulating telephony services and providing information to potential customers about telephony services without the use of a public carrier telephone system.
Consumers are faced with an ever expanding universe of choices with regard to telephone services and products. Sales of telecommunications products and services can be increased by allowing potential customers to sample products and demonstrate features such as call waiting, caller ID and cellular services. Currently, to fully demonstrate services and features, a telephone communications retailer must use the actual telecommunication line. This requires that at least two telephones with appropriate service connections be available for use by the potential customers. If multiple users desire to sample the services or products simultaneously, there must be sufficient phone pairs connected to the public telephone switch network available, increasing the cost and complexity of the demonstration. Allowing potential customers to use the actual services and products ties up equipment needed to provide service to current paying customers.
The present invention obviates the disadvantages that have been noted above using a conventional touch pad of a telephone instrument, through a self contained network, to provide access to a computerized data base which will emulate telephone services and products in a retail premises without connection to the public carrier network.
It is an object of this invention to provide a method and apparatus for receiving signals through an interface. A decoder transforms the signals into digital data. The digital data is sent to a microcontroller, where it is compared with preprogrammed data. If the digital data matches the preprogrammed data, the microcontroller then sends a command signal to a playback device. The playback device transmits the selected data describing or emulating telephone services in response to the command signal of the microcontroller. If ringing the telephone is appropriate as part of the demonstration, the microprocessor generates a ring signal which is sent to a ring signal generator.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a system for demonstrating telephone capabilities and service which includes a telephone for producing dual tone multiple frequency signals and a telephone interface for sending and receiving signals to and from the dual tone multiple frequency generator. The telephone interface simulates a standard telephone line. A dual tone multiple frequency decoder transforms the dual tone multiple frequency signals from the telephone into digital data which is sent to a microcontroller. The microcontroller has memory containing instructions for comparing signals from the dual tone multiple frequency generator with preprogrammed data in the memory. If there is a match in the comparison the microcontroller produces an output signal which is sent to a data storage and playback device that receives said output signal of said microcontroller and transmits data describing or emulating telephone services in response to the output signal of said microcontroller. The ring generator, upon receiving a signal from the microcontroller sends signals via the telephone interface to cause the telephone to ring.
Various other purposes and advantages of the invention will become clear from its description in the specification that follows. It will be understood that the invention is not limited to the precise embodiment disclosed below and that alternative embodiments and methods will be readily apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the claims.